Different
by sholto
Summary: Sometimes the unexpected isn't really that bad after all.


A/N: I always thought these two with their backgrounds in the game had a lot of potential to be such a lovely pairing, what with the masses of material there is to work with them. I doubt this does them justice at all but it's been on my hard drive for forever and a day. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts isn't mine. The conspicious lack of blant malexmale ought to have clued you in.

**Different (AxR) **

"Nearly all the best things that came to me in life have been unexpected, unplanned by me."

Carl Sandburg

* * *

Axel wasn't sure what was wrong with what he was seeing but he did know that something was wrong. Vexen and Zexion's theories about what happened to a nobody when they faded into the darkness had all concluded the something. The nobody would simply become nothing. Their awareness would be gone, their physical body gone; they ceased to exist in the most complete sense of the phrase, with no evidence to show that that they had ever been there to begin with.Xemnas had built the Proof of Existence after hearing this, one of the few things that towards the end Axel had still agreed with the man about. He had been determined that even if they all died, that room would serve as eternal proof that they had existed, even if no one ever admitted it.

But this, this wasn't disappearing, it couldn't be. He knew he had faded, remembered the feeling of simply letting it all go. Of quite literally burning himself out into the darkness in defense of Roxas' person Sora. He remembered fading into darkness Sora looking and sounding so different but so similar to Roxas- hovering over him, worry and sadness apparent in the depth-less blue of those haunting eyes. And most of all he remembers his fall into the dark, through the cold, cold darkness and his last conscious thought that now- _finally_- he could maybe find his Roxas.

Then he was swimming to consciousness and the first thing that he realized was that he no longer laid on cold floor but on a bed. A really comfortable bed actually and that's not right. He rarely listened to either Vexen or Zexion but this is something that he had trusted them on and dammit, now he feels almost betrayed because a comfy bed is not what IX and VI theories about what comes after fading detailed. Suddenly a door opened and a blinding light cause through the open space. As his eyes adjusted he realized a figure was standing in the door, a very familiar figure, familiar enough that his instinctive response was to throw a large fireball at them.

"Yah!"

The voice was just as familiar as the figure but what confirmed his suspicion of the figures' identity was when a large spout of water jetted out of nowhere to douse the fireball, filling the room with a sudden rush of steam in the process.

As the steam slowly cleared Axel found himself staring at a clearly apprehensive Demyx.

"Axel...you awake?" the blond asked, voice soft as if speaking to a particularly dangerous and blood thirsty creature. The man was peering over hands raised protectively before his face.

"Demyx!?" Axel's voice was strangled but he didn't get any further because the blond had turned, arms flailing as he ran out the doorway into the doorway beyond yelling, "Hey, you guys Axel's awake."

Axel heard loud yelps and the thuds of many, many feet pounding towards where he was. The poor door never stood a chance, slamming open under the combined force of a tangle of people, all determined to get in first, hitting it. To his eternal shame he found himself terrified, as Zexion and Vexen led the pack each with armfuls of medical equipment and several books and _fucking darkness! _Was that a needle and should it be that big?

The two descended on him busily examining him and forcing little sticks and lights down his throat and eyes and all the while the rest were filling the room with their babbling, cacophony of voices raised in questions directed to both him and the two scientists and greetings to him that took the general tone of to quote Saix, "It took long enough to wake up, you brainless firebug."

He felt he tolerated the confusing rush well enough, with composition even but when Zexion picked up that cursed needle he whimpered, and was unashamed of that fact, to Demyx, "Demyx your one-eyed friend sticks me with that and you're toast."

Demyx apparently took him seriously even if the look Zexion directed at him said clearly that the schemer didn't. The blond quickly dragged the shorter man away, ignoring Vexen's annoyed glare as he rose as well and followed the two to a corner where the two quickly entered into an intense conversation. He quickly found himself face to face with a pissed looking Namine but before she could open her mouth, a commotion started by the door that thankfully distracted the memory- witch.

Sora- had to be him no other brunet had that level of spikiness on their heads- was busily struggling with another person. Axel felt his heart -because that's what had to be cause of the unfamiliar weight in his chest area- constrict, just a little, with the hope that perhaps Sora was wrestling with the person that even in his distracted state he had been looking for. He hoped desperately that the person that put that look of frustration and amusement on the keyblade wielder's face had a shock of that distinctive pale blond spiked hair he wanted to see most.

Sora appeared to have gotten the upper hand on his opponent and with a sudden tug, jerked them into the room. The force behind that pull sent both the person and he into a tumbling, tangle of limbs on the floor that went rolling towards the bed emitting the sound of muffled curses and grunts. The others in the room evaded them with what had to be practiced ease. Axel levered himself up to peer over the edge of his bed and found himself looking into two pairs of unearthly blue eyes, one pair equal parts furious, panicked and resigned, the other were filled with unrepentant glee and unholy triumph.

"Sora, you little punk. I'm gonna ring your _scrawny_. _Neck_." Soradidn't so much as blink at his other's murderous tone but he give Axel a wink as he curled protectively around himself, where Roxas while untangling himself had kicked him.

"Aww, don't be so nasty. Didn't you wanna see Axel?"

Roxas turned an unappealing shade of puce as he sputtered incoherent words at the brunet, who just continued to grin at him. Sora's courage or stupidity, Axel could not decide which applied more, was further demonstrated when his grin turned downright cheeky and said, "What's the matter Roxas, ya' chicken?"

Sora continued to grin as he got up and left to room back turned and completely unguarded, apparently confident that despite the promise of murder that lurked in Roxas' eyes his other wouldn't attempt to kill him. Just in case though, Axel decided it was time to intervene.

"Roxas," he knows his voice sounds weak but at the moment he cannot bring him self to givea damn. Finding himself awake, aliveand apparently real after resigning himself to the darkness seeing the rest of the Organization also alive and well was a shock but seeing Sora and Roxas at the same time. He was beyond shock.

Roxas seeming to haveheard and better yet understood the desperation behind Axel's weak call, gavehim a reassuring look before, quickly shooing the others out after Sora. He even engaged in a rapid and fiercely whispered conversation with Vexen. Nevertheless, in the end he was grabbed by Zexion and dragged out with the rest of the group, finally leaving them alone.

They looked at each other for several moments that felt longer than they were. Both searched for the proper way to verbalize their racing thoughts.

"Roxas." "Axel."

They stared and ceased to speak at the same time. Roxas inched closer and Axel shifted slightly as they resumed their staring. Then each tried again.

"Listen, I know this is weird…"

"What the fuck is going on…"

They broke off, staring at each other again; small smiles beginning to tug at the corners of their mouths, and Axel felt a slight lifting in his heart. They tried again.

"You go first."

"You go first."

They stared again but unable to help themselves burst into peals of laughter, Axel collapsing back into the pillows, while Roxas fell forward onto the bed. They lay there laughing, hysterically grateful that they could still do so. Finally, their amusement died off in hiccups and wheezes and they lay next to each other glad that the tension was finally broken. Roxas slithered the rest of the way onto the bed and settled in cross legged and they grinned at each other like idiots and Axel felt yet another weight lift from his heart when he edged his hand towards Roxas and the teen reached out and twined his fingers with his. They sat in companionable silence for a while simply content to finally have found one another again, secure in the knowledge that though, neither of them had really said anything, they were finally alright with each other.

Finally, Axel looked at Roxas, "Hey Rox, can I ask you something?"

Roxas eyes turned worried, 'Yeah sure anything, I know you've got to confused…" Axel laughed softly, cutting the blonde off, "No, no not now, later. I just wanted to know…is this real?"

Roxas smiled and squeezed the red head's hand, "Yeah it is real. All of it."

"Good," Axel sighed, reassured and squeezed the other's hand back relishing the warmth, the realness of it, because it was true he had expected something different but that did not necessarily mean what he had was bad.

* * *

Sweet aren't they? Be kind donate a review, even flames would be entertaining iin the mood I'm in.


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